Dream fulfilled: Afthim hears name called in 2025 MLB draft

By Ed Pierce

Ever since he was a young player and competing in Windham Little League games, Brady Afthim has clung to his dream of someday playing Major League Baseball. The next step in his quest became a reality on Monday when the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 13th round of the 2025 MLB Draft with the 384th pick.

2021 Windham High grad Brady Afthim, who pitched in
college for the University of Connecticut, was drafted
in the 13th round by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2025
MLB Draft on Monday. He is now in Arizona to start
his professional career pitching for Cincinnati's
Rookie League team in Goodyear, Arizona.
PHOTO BY COLBY RUSH

A right-handed pitcher who dominated opponents while playing for Windham High School, Afthim, 22, was the closer for the University of Connecticut Huskies after graduating from WHS in 2021. He earned a baseball scholarship at UConn through hard work and dedication to improving his skills while playing at Windham High.

Under the tutelage of then-WHS Coach Cody Dube, who also had grown up in Windham been drafted and played in baseball’s minor leagues, Afthim made the most of his opportunity in high school. He was honored as Maine Gatorade Player of the Year, was USA Today Player of the Year in Maine, and was recognized as First Team All-Southern Maine Athletic Association as both a pitcher and a catcher. He also won the John Winkin Award designating him as the top senior high school baseball player in Maine in 2021 and he was named as the recipient of the 2021 Mr. Baseball in Maine Award.

A landscape architect major at UConn, Afthim showed promise as a freshman in 2022. He appeared in 22 games out of the bullpen for the Huskies and didn’t allow a run in 15 of his 22 outings while stranding 11 of 14 inherited runners. As a sophomore, Afthim held opponents to .205 batting average while making 26 appearances for UConn, including retiring all six batters that he faced to clinch the Big East Conference regular season title at Creighton University and then pitching a scoreless inning against Georgetown in the Big East Conference Championship Game.

By the time his junior college season arrived in 2024, Afthim drew the attention of professional scouts and was honored as a First Team All-Big East selection. He finished second in the Big East Conference with 8 saves and struck out 27 batters in 25 1/3 innings pitched. His 2.29 Earned Run Average was fifth overall in the Big East that season and he was credited with a save in the NCAA Norman Regional at No. 9 Oklahoma and then pitched a career-high 3.2 innings at No. 8 Florida State in the NCAA Super Regionals.

This year as a senior, Afthim closed out his college career as second in UConn history with 92 appearances. He was tied for 8th place overall in team history with 17 career saves and he posted the lowest opponent batting average in Huskies’ history at just .211. Afthim also had a career-low 2.45 ERA, earned nine saves and had two wins as the team’s closer. In 22 appearances, he racked up 53 strikeouts.

Signing a contract with the Reds, Afthim left Wednesday to join Cincinnati's Rookie League team in Goodyear, Arizona, and the first step on his road to the major leagues.

The Reds drafted Afthim for his talent as his fastball has been timed in the range of 93 to 95 mph and has touched 97 mph at times. Besides throwing a fastball, he also mixes in a changeup and throws a slider that he uses to offset his fastball.

His parents, Shelly and Phil Afthim, are well-known around town for their support of both Brady and his older brother Bryce, who also pitched for Windham High School and played in college for the University of Southern Maine.

“We are all incredibly proud of Brady’s accomplishment in being drafted,” said Shelly Afthim, Brady’s mother. “He has put in a lot of time and effort to reach this goal, and it hasn’t been without sacrifices and challenges along the way. To watch him not only set a goal, work toward that goal for years, then to watch him negotiate for himself and knowing his worth on the day of the draft was really amazing to watch as a parent. He has a lot of support from family, friends and coaches, but he earned this through his own efforts.” <

Afthim brothers cherish time spent playing together on same team again

By Andrew Wing

Less than 10 percent of all high school athletes go on to play a sport in college. From the workouts and time management to coping with the pressure to succeed, the demands of these athletes are tremendous but the Afthim brothers from Windham are taking it all in stride.

Brady Afthim, left, and 
his brother, Bryce Afthim,
represented the North
division in the 2022
NECBL All-Star Game
on Sunday, July 24 at
Martha's Vineyard in
Massachusetts. 
PHOTO BY PHIL AFTHIM

Bryce and Brady Afthim are the sons of Phil and Shelly Afthim, and the family has called Windham home for the past 15 years. Both Bryce and​​ Brady graduated from Windham High School where they both played varsity baseball all four years.

Bryce, 21, is about to begin his senior year at the University of Southern Maine where he has a major in Business Analytics. He was recruited by a number of NCAA Division III programs, but he chose to continue his baseball career at USM under coach Ed Flaherty.

In his three years at USM, Bryce has been at the top of the rotation and some of the awards he’s garnered include being named to the NEIBA All-New England team, and this past season he was named a Second Team LEC Starting Pitcher.

Brady, 19, just completed his first year at the University of Connecticut where he appeared in 22 games out of the bullpen for the Huskies. He was the first baseball player from Maine to be recruited by UConn and coach Jim Penders, and he certainly showed why during his senior season at Windham High, which saw him garner awards such as Maine Gatorade Player of the Year and also the prestigious Winkin Award.

Although the two brothers haven’t shared the field since 2019, this summer they’ve had the chance to be back on the diamond together in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. They both played in the league last year on different teams, but this year they’ve been playing for the Sanford Mainers where they’ve both had incredibly successful seasons.

And while the two have been playing together their whole lives, both of them know at this stage in their baseball careers just how special it is to be back on the same team.

“It’s very special, it isn’t seen very often, and our teammates have enjoyed it just as much as us because of how rare it is,” said Bryce. “This summer’s been even more enjoyable because of how dominant we’ve been and it’s nice watching both of us succeed against high-level competition.”

“I think I got used to it growing up and I think it’s just something I took for granted at the time,” said Brady. “When he graduated high school, I thought that would be the last time we were teammates, so it’s cool to be able to play with him now not only on the same team but playing the same position too.”

There’s no denying that to be a successful athlete you must be extremely competitive and there’s also no denying that siblings can be highly competitive with one another, and that’s just the case for Bryce and Brady.

“I’d say growing up we were competing against each other in almost anything and everything,” said

Bryce. “But since we’ve both gone to college, it’s turning into more of a desire to watch the other succeed against other competition, rather than against each other.”

“We are both competitive, but the competitor in me thinks that I’m more competitive than he is,” said Brady. “I like to give him a hard time because my stats are a little bit better than his are this summer.”

Despite the two being highly competitive with one another, they are still both proud of the other’s success.

“I am very proud of Brady’s success,” said Bryce. “He set goals for himself in high school that a select few knew of and he worked harder than most to get there.”

His brother echoed that sentiment.

“I am proud of the progress he has made and his willingness to compete and battle on the mound,” said 

Brady. “I’m always going to push him and keep the compliments to a minimum, but if we had a must-win game tomorrow and I was the coach, he’d be starting that game.”

As of right now, the brothers are still in the midst of their season with the Sanford Mainers, and after that, they will turn their focus to their college teams, but both brothers definitely hope to be playing long after college.

“My main goal this past year was to get into better shape and I did that by losing 35 pounds, so my main goal for this upcoming year is to build more muscle and get my velocity higher,” said Bryce. “If I can do that, I might be able to keep playing after college which is my current long-term goal.”

Brady has a goal too.

“I try to stay in the present and not look too far into the future,” said Brady. “For now, though, I just want to keep getting better, have success at UConn, and hopefully be fortunate enough to make this game a job one day.” <